


Sweet Aroma

by Mystico



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baristas, Gay, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-05 13:23:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14045160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystico/pseuds/Mystico
Summary: The dark haired boy closed the door behind him, putting his umbrella in the assigned holder by the 'welcome!' mat. His clothes were damp and he shivered slightly."Hey…you open?"No."Yes"No we closed 5 minutes ago."What can I get you?"





	1. The Blonde Barista

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Guys!  
> This is my first ever posted story, so please be gentle and let me know what you think :)   
> \- Mystico

"Soy, double shot, vanilla cappuccino, extra froth with whip cream and marshmallows for Louise?" Prompto's voice rang out across the café as a lady bustled up to the counter to collect her sugary monstrosity.   
"Have a nice day" He gave her a charming smile before turning back to the overworked coffee machine. It was busy for a Tuesday. He checked his watch to find it was 4:37pm. 23 more minutes until he can close up shop.

He breathed a sigh of relief and started making another 'diabetes drink'. The 'trendy pink, sugar unicorn crap' drinks were always his best sellers. He poured the last order into a cup before calling out the name. A teenage girl wearing a local school uniform approached the counter, her giggling friends flocked behind her. 

"Marie?" Prompto doubled checked before setting the drink down in front of her. The girl stared at it before being encouragingly pushed by the hoard of giggly schoolgirls behind her. She looked back at them with a panicked look on her face. 

"Something wrong?" He was itching to flip the sign over to 'closed', and his mind went to the sink full of dishes in the back…  
"Um…I was hoping maybe instead of writing my name on the cup…you could write your number?" Red faced and clammy hands clasped together in front of her, the girl could barely look up at him in the eye. He gave her points for courage. 

"Ah.." he laughed nervously, his mouth twisting into a 'sorry' smile.   
"I have a girlfriend sorry" What a lie.  
"Oh really?" Her shoulders drooped.  
"Yeah" Complete liar. "But I appreciate the compliment!"  
He watched as the girl took her drink and left, her friends in a mixture of giggles and comforting words.

He breathed his second sigh of relief and leaned against the bench. He should be used to this by now, but every time he was hit on it always caught him off guard. His bubbly personality seemed to just attract random invites. He glanced out the glass windows at the dark street to find the weather had taken a harsh change. Large droplets fell from the sky onto the empty road as Prompto cursed. He didn't expect it to rain, evident by his lack of umbrella. The apartment wasn't a long walk, but long enough that he knew he'd be soaked by the time he made it there. 

He busied himself with stacking chairs and wiping down messes from tables. He hummed quietly to himself whilst fantasising about the leftover take-out Chinese in his fridge at home. Behind him, the front door bell brought him out of his reverie. He felt a pang of frustration before turning around to greet them with a smile. 

His greeting almost got caught in his throat. The dark haired boy closed the door behind him, putting his umbrella in the assigned holder by the 'welcome!' mat. His clothes were damp and he shivered slightly.   
"Hey…you open?"  
No.   
"Yes"   
No we closed 5 minutes ago.   
"What can I get you?"  
The stranger looked up at the board, reading over the options as Prompto made his way behind the counter. It was roughly 5:06pm now, but Prompto told himself one more customer wouldn't hurt.   
"Hm, what would you recommend?" The boy asked, only briefly glancing at the barista. 

"Well our most popular item right now is the cupcake latte"   
The boy grimaced.   
"I'll just…go with a hot chocolate."   
"Marshmallows?"  
"Surprise me" he spoke, placing $5 in Prompto's outstretched hand.  
Prompto gave him a gentle eye roll before he moved to the machine. The stranger followed, taking the closest seat to him. 

He felt like he had an audience; which made him feel unusually nervous. He glanced over with his peripheral vision, to find the boy staring at him. Quickly looking away, he mixed in the hot chocolate. What was his problem?  
"You didn't ask my name"

Prompto looked over at him in surprise.   
"You're the only person here, I didn't think it was necessary."   
The stranger chewed on his lip, resting his chin on his hand.  
"Do you want to know anyway?"

One, two, three marshmallows. Clicking the lid into place the blond barista turned to the boy.   
"It's Noctis" He spoke, standing up to collect the drink,  
With an outstretched arm, Prompto handed the warm cup over to him. Noctis. Not a bad name.  
"Thanks" The boy glanced at Prompto's apron, which had his name tag neatly pinned on "Prompto is it?"  
The blond nodded, which received a lazy smile from the other. It was…nice. 

"Well, I'll see you around?" Noctis spoke as he made his way to the door.  
"Yeah." His voice came out slightly squeaky, and Prompto mentally kicked himself for being an idiot.  
That boyish grin was flashed at him again before Noctis picked up his umbrella and walked back out into the curtain of rain.  
Prompto caught himself smiling. Not a customer smile. A real smile. Why was he so elated over a stranger? His excitement was dashed by the thought of the dirty dishes in the sink out back. With a groan, he made his way to the back of the store.


	2. An Unconfirmed Attraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He looked around and when he looked up to catch Prompto's eye, he expectedly…smiled warmly. He walked over, one hand going to his hair; smoothing it down a little.   
> "The usual" He tried to sound cool, but couldn't help but grin stupidly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you to the positive feedback from my first chapter! :) I appreciate the love!   
> Have great days everyone!  
>  \- Mystico

Dark clouds filled the sky and the heavens opening, sending a torrent of rain down on the city. The café was pretty empty, which gave Prompto the time to clean out the food display cabinets. It'd been a couple of tortuous days since his unlikely friend had first visited. He tried to not think about him. But every time the front bell would make that familiar ring, he'd whip around to see who it was. Get a grip, Prompto.

He bit his lip and scrubbed exceedingly hard at a particularly stubborn stain. The familiar chime of the front door bell sounded, and he almost didn't want to look. Though, his heart skipped a beat when he did.  
Noctis stood in the doorway, hair damp. Looks like he'd been the one to forget his umbrella this time. He wiped his feet on the mat, trying to not track water all through the café. 

He looked around and when he looked up to catch Prompto's eye, he expectedly…smiled warmly. He walked over, one hand going to his hair; smoothing it down a little.   
"The usual" He tried to sound cool, but couldn't help but grin stupidly.   
'H/CHC W/ x3 MMLS'

Noctis paid and frowned to find his seat was being taken up by a sickeningly sweet couple on a date. Get a room, that's my spot.   
He opted to stand near the machine instead.  
Prompto racked his brain for small talk. He glanced outside: the weather was a bit of an overdone topic.

"So, do you go to school near here?" Noctis looked up, a little grateful the barista had plucked up the courage to dive into the small talk first.  
"Yeah I do; Lucis Academy"   
Prompto smiled up at him.  
"Hey me too" He was stalling. It never takes him this much time to pour milk and steam it. The dark haired boy didn't seem fazed as he continued the conversation.

"What do you study?" He questioned.  
Prompto told him all about his photography course as he made the hot drink, as slowly as he could without it being noticeable.   
Noctis listened, interest lighting up his normally passive face. He watched Prompto talk passionately. His smile when he talked about his favourite photos, the way his eyes lit up when he remembered a detail. It was…endearing. He found himself just watching Prompto's mouth as he talked.

"So anyway, enough about me…what do you study?" He looked up at Noctis and snapped a lid on top of the warm cardboard cup.   
"Law" He chuckled when he saw Prompto's eyes widen. "It's not what you think…my dad wanted me to study something worthwhile" He shrugged as he took his drink from the barista.

Prompto desperately wanted to continue the conversation, but his ears were assaulted by hordes of damp screaming students running in. School rush.  
Noctis gave him a pitied grin as Prompto pouted.   
"I'll see you later" Noctis held his drink up in a 'cheers' motion before leaving the store.

I'll see you later.  
I'll see you later?  
What does that even mean?  
The next couple of hours were a busy, hurried daze as he served, made coffees and vigorously cleaned the café.  
He nodded, accomplished, as he looked around at the now closed and spotless café.

Taking off his apron and hanging it up, he grabbed his shoulder bag and left the store. Double checking the lock, he walked the small journey to his cosy apartment. At least the rain had backed off a little, but small droplets still fell onto his spikey hair and onto his glasses. He eventually gave up trying to keep his glasses dry. Typical.

Letting himself into the apartment complex with the password. 1234. The apartment owner hadn't been too imaginative apparently. He huffed and started climbing the 5 sets of stairs up to his place. At first he'd been elated to have such a high up apartment. It'll have a great view! And indeed it had; of the red bricks from the building next door. On the positive sides of things, at least it was firming up his legs and booty. He was almost…a little proud?

He unlocked the door and like usual, had to give it a good shoulder barge to open it. Same old sticky door. The loud noise awoke and scared off his two little fur companions, who quickly came scuttling back in search of food.  
"Hey guys" He spoke as he kicked off his shoes with relief, not expecting a reply. The cats swirled around his legs, meowing incessantly.   
"Alright, alright" The dark brown fluff ball was insistent. He wanted food. And he wanted it now.

Prompto poured the cheap cat food into a bowl.  
"You're easy to please Gladio" The dumb cat had always preferred the cheap shit. On the other hand…  
"Here we are, Iggy" Carefully placing the gourmet cat food into the bowl, Ignis began eating, less feverishly than his Maine Coon buddy.

He smiled down at his furry friends.  
Iggy had been his first cat. He'd found him when we was walking home from school. A tiny, cold Siamese kitten. He couldn't just leave the poor guy there! So he wrapped him up in his jacket and took him home.   
It hadn't taken him long to recover, and soon he had a rowdy, playful kitten on his hands.   
He'd adopted Gladio not long after - he wanted Iggy to have a friend when he was working late at the café.   
He was worried they wouldn't get along at first - but they proved to be instant best friends.

He groaned and opened the fridge.  
"What did you guys do today? Make me some money?" He shook his head at them "No, I guess that's my job" he took out the milk carton and took a sip straight from it. It was a usual thing for him to talk to them. He didn't live with anyone else, so he didn't really get to talk to many people outside of the café.   
He went and laid on the couch, the gluttonous heavy Maine Coon jumping up onto his stomach. He groaned as he looked up at the fluffy cat, which promptly made itself comfortable on Prompto's stomach.

"How can you already be done eating?" He smiled knowingly as he scratched behind Gladio's ear. A gentle purr emanated from him as he lapped up the attention.   
He pursed his lips in thought.   
"Chinese for dinner again, I guess?" He grabbed his phone and dialled the number from memory, sinking into the comfortable couch.


End file.
